Cross Training For Martial Arts

Cross training – the #1 way to supercharge your game!

Cross training is said to be one of the most important activities that can performed to become amazing in a sport. Whether it’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay-Thai or Mixed Martial Arts, world-class athletes always repeat the same thing – cross-train! But what is it and how can it possibly be so important as to get so much praise? Let’s find out!

What is Cross-Training?It is the act of traveling to another facility than the one an athlete regularly trains at. A top-notch fighter would then spar, try out new techniques, and exchange knowledge with their new training partners. The boost of skill that is added to their arsenal just can’t be replaced!

How does this assist athletes?

1. Competition – there is no more productive way to train for a tournament or fight. When training with new partners at different gyms, athletes have no idea what the partners will try. They don’t know what submissions will attempted, combinations will be hit, or take downs will be tried. Because of this, fighters are forced to create a universal game plan that is unique to themselves, and get used to sparring with opponents they have never met!

2.Knowledge – it’s no doubt that training at a top notch facility like M3 Fight and Fitness is very important, but cross-training is close behind. When sparring with new athletes, even world-champions are open to learning new techniques and philosophies that may not have been seen before.

3. Advancement – all top athletes understand the dangers of hitting a plateau. If a fighter trains at one single facility for their entire career, they miss out on all the huge benefits that cross-training offers. Sparring at other gyms feeds a fighter an incredible amount of knowledge and experience that they can’t replace. One ability that fighters empower themselves doing this is being able to see themselves progress. If an athlete trains around the same amount of time with the same partners, they may feel like they aren’t advancing at all, as they probably don’t find themselves tapping, punching, or having any more success with that partner. This is not because they aren’t progressing, but rather the fighter is just advancing at the same rate as that their partner is. However, when fighters cross-train, they see their skills pass by those of students at other gyms, and can understand just how incredible they are becoming in their sport.

There is a lot of activities that can be completed to enhance an athletes arsenal, and cross-training is one of the best. Training at least two times a month does wonders for world-champions, and can do the same for all athletes. If a fighter has extreme motivation, positive attitude, a great facility to train at, and the ability to cross-train, they can achieve anything!